U.S. job openings fell to an eight-month low in August and hiring was little changed, suggesting some easing in labor market conditions amid an aging economic recovery.
Reuters reports that details of the Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, published today, continue to point to a solid jobs market, with a steady rise in the number of people voluntarily quitting their jobs and declining layoffs.
Job openings, a measure of labor demand, declined 388,000 to a seasonally adjusted 5.4 million, the lowest level since December, after surging to a record high in July.
That pushed down the jobs openings rate three-tenths of a percentage point to 3.6%, also the lowest reading since December.
“These data can be volatile and the openings rate is still fairly high, so it is too early to tell whether this is a signal or just the noise of volatile monthly data,” says John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. “However, if this drop is sustained, it could be a sign of increased caution on the part of businesses.”
The decline in job openings in August was led by professional and business services, where vacancies fell 223,000. Job openings in the durable goods manufacturing industries decreased by 29,000, and dropped by 28,000 in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey is one of the job market metrics on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s so-called dashboard. Fed officials view the labor market as being at or near full employment.
The U.S. central bank is widely expected to increase interest rates in December, having kept borrowing costs steady over course of the year because of persistently low inflation.
